


Falling, Flying

by SassySnowperson



Series: Mara Jade Stories [6]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fusion of Star Wars Legends and Disney Canon, Getting Together, POV Mara Jade
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:47:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28441152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SassySnowperson/pseuds/SassySnowperson
Summary: She went to Luke because she was wounded and tired and lonely, and he felt safe.
Relationships: Mara Jade/Luke Skywalker
Series: Mara Jade Stories [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2060385
Comments: 8
Kudos: 39





	Falling, Flying

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, eternal thanks to [rosepetalfall](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosepetalfall)   
>  for the beta!

Mara woke up slowly, lazy and warm in the afternoon sunlight. She lingered in that liminal space between sleep and waking, peace heavy in her limbs. Piece by piece the world filtered in—tree branches waving above her head, the scent of their flowers drifting through the air, the slight breeze keeping her from becoming overheated. 

All lovely, and that was even before she got to her pillow—Luke Skywalker, his thigh beneath her cheek and his fingers carding idly through her hair. His aura of contentment and affection hung heavy in the air. It was stronger than usual. He was sharing it with her. 

Mara swallowed back her own sudden burst of unease, pulling her emotions back under her skin from where they had leaked out. Luke's Force-presence followed hers, politely regulating himself to her emotional comfort. 

"How long was I out?" Mara asked. Her voice was thick enough that she knew the answer had not been five minutes. 

"About an hour," Luke said, scratching at her scalp lightly. "I'm glad. It seemed like you needed it." 

Why had she even come back here? Her scouting run had gone horribly wrong. Eight days spent hiding in a cold, powered-down ship, watching with mounting horror as the band of ex-Empire bastards calling themselves the First Order scuttled around their new base. They were so much stronger than they had any right to be. And for eight long days Mara had sat there, not sure if she would make it clear to tell anyone. 

She had, and then as soon as she'd gotten the transmission off, she went to find Luke. Oh sure, she could excuse it. Luke was a pillar of the community, these days, with his burgeoning Jedi temple. A temple she had helped plan, with a garden she had helped plant, and students she even sometimes helped train. This comfortable space was in danger, too, and the Jedi needed to know about the growing threat. 

But more than the New Republic did? More than Karrde wanted an in-person debrief? 

No. 

She went to Luke because she was wounded and tired and lonely, and he felt safe. And he had taken her out into the sunshine and sat with her while she slept. 

"Are you doing alright?" Luke asked.

"Better, now," Mara answered, honest for once. She loosened her tight hold on her emotions, let some of her tired ache out where Luke could see it. She showed him her gratitude, too, and the way the ache was being soothed.

"Good," Luke said, following her openness, letting out a little thread of worry for her, an honest pleasure that she was here.

"Love you," Mara said, partly just so she could feel the way Luke shone in response to the words. 

It wasn't the first time she had said them. But it was the first time she'd said them first, and without qualification. Luke loved her, and had started saying it when he realized she didn't mind. I love you too, Mara said in reply, but not…the same. Not as deeply. Not without reservation. But she did love him, much to her chagrin. 

She hadn't wanted to fall in love. But here she was anyway.

Luke's glow of excitement was a pleasurable rush, but Mara still couldn't help but flinch. Luke, tolerantly, but not without a little wistful sorrow, pulled back.

"Sorry," Mara said softly. "I'm not…" Looked like she was adding qualifications after all. "I'm still not going to stay."

"I know," Luke responded, finding her hand and squeezing it. "I just feel sometimes..." He paused, carefully considering the words. "...that you don't ask for things that you want, because you don't want to commit. I think," his fingers still traced gentle lines through her hair, but Mara could still feel the way his thigh tensed underneath her cheek, "that there are things I could give you, without—I wouldn't take your freedom."

He tripped over his words, despite the care that he was using in choosing them. Mara rolled into her back and curled up, shifting until she was sitting next to him. 

"Seems like that's not very fair to you," Mara said carefully, watching Luke's face. He could hide his feelings in the Force better than he could hide his expressions, she found. Farm boy never had developed a decent sabacc face. 

There were little tension lines around Luke's face, his mouth, but there was no hesitation hiding in his features as he said, "I don't see it that way. We'd both have the same freedoms. I just think that there's more we can give each other."

"Sex," Mara said, because she didn't have time for this delicate talking-around.

Luke gave a small smile, which was less than the embarrassed flush she had been expecting. "I'd like that. If you wanted. But also," he did blush now, but kept his eyes earnestly fixed on her. "You could keep some stuff here? Share my room, or claim one of the guest quarters as yours. Store that fancy gear you always grumble about not having space for in our kitchens. Whatever you want." Luke turned his palms up, offering, entreating. "I don't...Mara, I don't need to be your one and only, and you don't need to stay. But, well, I think maybe you should—no, you _could_ think about the fact that even when you leave, you come back."

Mara shivered, wanting what Luke was offering more than she expected. She'd gotten in the habit of telling herself that she couldn't take advantage. Of his warmth. Of his love. Of his home. He was open like a reflex, and _someone_ had to be thinking about how to keep his big heart safe. 

But of course, Luke was good at fucking up all her plans. "Think about it, Luke, you really think you'd be happy with that?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't have this conversation with you if I hadn't thought about it. Yes. I'd be so, so, happy. But I'm also happy with this. If you don't want more, then this is good. But…if you wanted to make the temple one of your homes, you should."

Mara licked her lips, and leaned a little closer. "And if I wanted to make Luke Skywalker one of my lovers?"

Luke's eyes widened a bit, but there was no hesitation before he answered, "You should. Both. Either. If you want it, want me—"

Mara didn't let him get any further before she kissed him. Maybe it was the bone-deep ache of eight days spent alone in the cold that drove her forward. 

Maybe it was just the inevitability of falling for Luke's love. 

She had fought it for a long time. By the time Mara had realized she wouldn't mind sleeping with him, she had also managed to make Luke such an integral part of her life that she knew he could never be a casual fling. Being with Luke had _meaning_. 

Maybe Mara still would have gone for it, if Luke had been some friendly soul she'd met in a restaurant kitchen, or a rival mercenary with dry wit and a nice smile. But Luke was the Force's chosen herald, and Mara was the Force's discarded plaything. He was Anakin's beloved son and she was Vader's barely-tolerated pupil. Luke was the hero, Mara was the assassin sent to kill him. They were so tangled up by purpose and destiny that Mara didn't see a way out. She didn't think she could love Luke without losing herself. 

But Luke made the impossible seem possible. Leave, but come back. Be with me, and be _you._ He was offering freedom and security all in one, and it was exactly what she needed. She didn't trust it, not entirely, but she didn't trust _anything_ entirely. She was a prickly, suspicious bastard by nature, and Luke loved her anyway, and she wasn't inclined to say no anymore. 

Luke gave a happy rumble against her mouth, one hand coming up to frame her face, tilting her jaw slightly to get a better angle. Mara felt heat start to pool in her stomach, as she wanted, and the wanting grew. She opened her mouth, and he opened his, and they kissed until they were shuddering and panting from it. 

At some point she had rolled Luke to the ground, covered him with her body, her legs straddling his hips. As they started rocking together, Mara felt a certain inevitability, the road they were running down heading straight for a cliff—there was time to turn aside, but not much. 

"If you're not sure…" she growled next to his ear.

"I'm sure," Luke gasped, the palm of his hand settled against the skin of her lower back, steady as he held her there and arched up against her. "Take what you want. I'm giving it."

Mara took a deep breath. The cliff face loomed, but she trusted Luke. She didn't turn aside. With him, she thought, she probably wouldn't crash. 

The two of them, they could fly. 

**Author's Note:**

> FINALLY THEY KISS. It's about time. 
> 
> So, this was actually the first ficlet written! It was written TEN MONTHS ago, shared with rosepetalfall, and then it sat in my drafts folder, unlikely to ever see the light of day. But the universe didn't let me go, and I really fell in love with this Mara and wanted to feel out some stories for her a little more. And here we are! 
> 
> I've enjoyed sharing all this series, but I'm particularly glad this one is getting thrown out into the universe for more people to see :D


End file.
